Team Empire today announced that it has dropped Daniil "JoyStiCK" Gabov, Artur "ShepparD" Ipatov, Danila "Dan" Dontsov, and Dmitry "Always" Mitrahovich.
Replacing the four will be Andrey "Andreezy" Bavian, Pavel "Amision" Chebatkov, Artyom "wTg" Morozov, and Anatoly "Vitusha" Martynov.
The former trio will be familiar to viewers, having been on Virtus.pro across various periods, while eXoduSS joins from HellRaisers after he and Amision had failed to secure promotion to the EUL with that team for 2022.
The decision marks a distinct choice from Empire to build around Dmitry "Scyther" Semenov despite the firepower of JoyStiCK and Dan, or the clutch ability of ShepparD.
Team Empire had begun their roster changes on Feb. 24, teasing these seismic changes and initially announcing the return of Oleg "RayzerGM" Kuchin as coach to replace Eugene "Zheka" Bokhanov in the role.
In 2021, Empire had a stellar run, making it to the Grand Final of both the Mexico Major and the most-recent Six Invitational 2022. The Russians had also finished second in the EUL 2021 Finals. Despite the results, however, the changes have been as wide-sweeping as promised by the organization itself.
The swaps have left many in the scene baffled, including NAVI player Jack "Doki" Robertson, who called it "the worst decision in esports history", and EUL analyst Jack "Fresh" Allen, who stated that he had "so many questions".
Catch the new-look Team Empire in action in the EUL some time later this month.
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